The UK's Surrey Satellite Technology (SSTL) company has signed a multi-million pound sterling contract with the Federal State Unitary Enterprise Russian Research and Production Enterprise Pan-Russian Research Institute for Electromechanics (FSUE NPP VNIIEM) and Radioexport company, to supply a satellite platform, equipment and support services for Russia's Kanopus-B low Earth orbit (LEO) Earth observation spacecraft.
Under the contract SSTL will supply FSUE NPP VNIIEM with the satellite platform, avionics, software and support spacecraft assembly and integration activities in Russia. The two companies also have plans for co-operation on at least two more projects.
Kanopus-B will be ready for launch in 2008 and will monitor the Earth's surface and support the monitoring of disasters, agricultural planning and the management of water and coastal resources.
"This contract is a unique opportunity for FSUE NPP VNIIEM and SSTL to further develop its co-operation on future Russian small satellite projects," says SSTL executive chairman Sir Martin Sweeting. Commercial Space Technologies, based in London and Moscow, acted as SSTL's local representative in Russia to assist negotiations with FSUE NPP VNIIEM and Radioexport.
Earlier this month, SSTL's latest satellite, CFESat, a research satellite built for the US department of energy's Los Alamos National Laboratory, was launched from NASA's Kennedy Space Centre.
Last month ESA awarded SSTL a follow-on contract for the supply of a second navigation satellite, GIOVE-A2. SSTL now has 12 new satellites under construction and test at its facilities in Guilford, England for customers in Europe, North America and Africa.
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Source: FlightGlobal.com
